Luxury travel news and reviews for Mexico, Central America, and South America

Caribbean Costa Rica Gets a Luxury Resort

It sure took a while, but the Caribbean side of Costa Rica now has a real functioning luxury resort hotel. We’ve got a first-person review of it from one of our Panama experts, Beverly Gallagher. See our detailed review of Le Caméléon Boutique Hotel.

Don’t come here looking for lots of florals and wicker. “Playful minimalism” is more the style, with white-on-white rooms playing against the greenery outside and common areas splashed with bright solid colors.

It’s not perfect yet: the beds are a bit small in the lowest category rooms and the staffers are still figuring out how to get past the sleepy Caribbean vibe that usually passes for hotel service with the competition. This is a bold project executed well though and a major step forward for the region. Now heading to “the other coast” doesn’t have to mean taking a big step down in quality.

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The one thing I would want to know is whether there are lots of mosquitoes. I can live with a slightly smaller bed, I can live with slower service (especially if the present company is pleasurable) … but I can’t live with any of those things if at the same time I’m being bitten by mosquitoes … tormented through every exposed patch of skin.

Well, the Caribbean coast is certainly known for being rainier and having more bugs, no matter what country you are in or what island you are on. But one advantage of a high-end hotel like this is at least your room is shut off from all that at night. Some times of the year are better than others of course and most guidebooks will lay that out for you.

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